Twisted Circuitry
by Until the Rain
Summary: Edward and Alphonse Elric are visiting Rush Valley with Winry; there, Alphonse spots a body in the darkness of an alley. It resembles a robot, and Al can't help but bring it back with him. What will happen when forbidden technology from the other side of the gate meets alchemy from Amestris? Contains AlOC, EdWin, hints of Royai, LingLan, follows basic FMA: B plot.


**Hello, everyone! :D This is not my first fanfiction, but it IS my first OC fanfiction! I hope you enjoy this anyways! But, beforehand, I should explain something to readers who have not been aware of Japanese titles yet:**

_In this chapter, the title -san will be used. -san is a formal way of addressing others, especially to those whom you have just met and/or isn't very well acquainted to yet. Other titles might be -chan, -kun, etc. I don't include nii-san (nee-san) or nee-san (neh-sahn) because I can just translate that to Brother or Sister. _

**All good? We good to go?**

**Let's start, then!**

**Chapter 1**

* * *

_~ Life Seen in Unknowing Eyes ~_

* * *

"Geez," said a young boy as he scratched the back of his head. His braid of golden whipped around as he glared at a tan-skinned girl with his eyes of the same shade. "You finally gave it back."

She ignored him completely, seeing as she was speaking to a blonde-haired girl with curious sapphire eyes. "Dominic-san is inside, he should show you some of the other things he's made. They're all so incredible!"

"Really? Thanks!" Winry waved to the two of them before disappearing behind a door of wooden, entering the simple cabin in search of this "Dominic-san."

Edward muttered incoherent curses to himself as he glanced at his silver pocketwatch. Over the surface, a lizard-like creature was engraved upon it, depicted as rearing with its claws out. Several leaves of laurel weaved in and about the creature, as if symbolizing something that he never bothered to think on.

His hand clenched on the pocketwatch, causing the chain to clink together. The metallic sound jolted him out of his thoughts-thoughts of that day and what he had written on the inside of the watch-as he suddenly noticed the absence of a presence.

"Where's Al?"

* * *

The day was presumably searing, judging from the blazing sun above, the heat haze, and the way how everyone was sweating and taking refuge in the shade. He was left standing alone in the middle of the dust road, where everyone was usually bustling about on.

He felt slightly uncomfortable about some of the strange stares that a few of the people were giving him, but most offered friendly waves to him (which he gladly returned). His armor clanked with each step he took, his brown gauntlets at his side. He was looking around, vaguely curious about the automail, but mostly thinking about where his older brother could've wandered off to. "Brother, where did you go?" he caught himself saying to no one in particular.

Alphonse halted at the entrance of a forlorn alley and a gear clicked into place within his mind. "That's where Brother was chasing the girl!" If true to memory, then the last time he had seen the young alchemist was on the rooftop of this building.

There was no way for a suit of steel to get up there without attracting plenty of attention, so Al followed along the narrow strip of space. He knew that the girl-Paninya- could have run anywhere, but she was heading west the entire time she leapt from rooftop-to-rooftop, so it was perfectly possible that-

His foot collided against the leg of a limp form slumping on the stone wall. He jolted at the sudden contact, then reached out hesitantly to prod at the shape, checking for any signs of life.

It shifted.

He retracted his arm in shock, having expected no movement at all. Was this person severely injured? There was no sign of blood, but why would someone be sitting alone in an alley? Bending down to look at their face, he found a human-shaped one covered in dirt, grime, and dust. It was as if she-he assumed it was a she-had never lived in healthy human conditions before.

A pang of pity resounded throughout Al, and he lifted the girl into his arms, her thin form pressed against his large bulky one. Her long, tangled strands of midnight hair trailed behind her, dangling over the arm that was holding her head. "Now, where to find Brother..."

At the mention of the State Alchemist, his short shape skidded in front of him. "Oi, Al! There you are!"

"Brother, look at what I found!"

"Don't tell me it's another stray c-" he began, before narrowing his gaze. "Is that...who is that?"

* * *

Alphonse stumbled into the cabin at the insistence of the kind family there. The couple, Satera and Ridel, welcomed him with smiles, whilst their grandfather, Dominic, just gave him a hard stare. "Um..."

The old man took one look at the human he was carrying and barked, "We don't have enough room or food for one more!"

"B-But...!"

"It's okay," Satera said. She was a woman with curls of chestnut brown and gentle eyes. Under the salmon pink apron was a bulging stomach. She saw him looking at it and laughed heartily. "You can touch it if you want."

"Really...?" Satera nodded, much to his happiness. He was about to set the girl down when a loud clang disturbed everyone within the household.

An arm lay on the polished wooden floor, unattached at the shoulder. Although the skin around it was pale, healthy human tissue, the sparking wires of silver at the end said otherwise. A single maple leaf of scarlet floated from the girl's hair, and Al only had the time to read one word before it crumbled into pieces.

"Hope," he said.

* * *

The robot sat in a corner of the room while Winry mowed through what she found out about it. Its body functionings were similar to that of automail, except the skin that covered it. It was extremely intricate, enough for it to work like a human, maybe even surpass one in intelligence. It even had a built-in system network, separated into a multitude of categories: sight, hearing, heat, data, memory, and so on.

She had rebooted its main systems, hoping for it to wake. Nothing happened, and so she left it in the corner there, where it curled against the wall.

"Brother?" Al said, right after Ed had turned the lights off. The glass panes of the window next to the bed brought in the sight of millions of stars. The sea of lights dappled the dark night; he dimly remembered the times when all three of them had huddled outside of the house and marveled at them.

"What is it, Al?" said his brother, whose back was turned to him.

"Winry never mentioned a bloodseal. What if it wakes? It doesn't have a soul, does it?" He was met with utter silence, and he waited for a few seconds before repeating, "Brother?"

"We'll see if it even activates," came the short reply. It sounded final, as if he wanted his sleep, so Al left the subject alone. He stood up, making sure to not wake everyone up with his clanking, and took a book from his suitcase.

His mind was nowhere near on focusing on the words floating in the pages. He could barely grasp any of the concepts within the book, and after a while, he gave up flipping the pages in an attempt to read. The black ink shaped into letters only swam around; he just wouldn't focus enough.

Setting the leatherbound book aside, he looked up to see what the time was. Maybe the sky could give some clue on whether morning was close yet, and he-

-came face to face with cyan eyes.

"A-Ah!" The mere sound of his voice, filled with surprise, was enough to jolt his brother out of his peaceful slumber; let alone the enormous amount of rattling that came with his tumbled-back figure.

"Al?!" Edward shot out of the comfortable sheets, sleepy eyes wide with apprehension. "What-"

"I-It...she's..." With a shaking finger, he pointed at the girl in front of him.

She was on hands and knees, her now-luscious locks of raven hair cascading off of her shoulders. She tilted her head as if contemplating some otherworldly important matter, then sat back down and gazed at him.

There was something about that stare that he didn't quite process. Her childish appearance, innocent and pure, did not match with those uncannily ice blue orbs of sight. Beneath that, if he tried hard enough, he was able to at least imagine that there was data being processed in that mind of hers.

"Who is that?! Al, get away from her!" With a clap, Edward drew out his blade from his automail hand, falling into a defensive stance. It was very obvious that, even though sharp-looking on the outside, the alchemist was not fully awake.

"Brother, that's the-she's the robot from yesterday! Calm down, please!"

"...Hah?" More perplexed than cautious now, he transmuted his hand back to normal and leaned off of the bed to inspect her. "Oh, you're right!"

"Brother..." The suit of armor let out an exasperated sigh. He was about to lecture him on the phrase "Think before you leap" until he remembered something else. "What do we do now? She looks like she has a soul, but she's not talking. Can she talk, understand what we're saying at all?"

"I don't know," was Edward's exhausted response. Apparently the anxiety that had fueled him before left him drained again. "I'm going back to sleep, it's like three in the morning." Without another word, he collapsed on the bed and crashed.

Silence stretched out between the two of them. "Um..." Alphonse stretched a hand out and realized he had no idea what to do with it. Settling both of them into his lap, he inspected her condition. She seemed perfectly fine on the outside, and he hoped that the same could be said for her insides as well. "Can you...understand me?"

Whilst giving no indication that she did, her head snapped towards him at the sound of his voice. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. Her eyes never leaving his soul fire ones, she finally said, "Type: _E.V.E.R. _Systems: _All Clear. _Code: **HOMUNCULUS OPAQUE POINT - ETHEREALITY.**"

This left him very, very confused.

The only word that sunk in was "Homunculus." That would be an artifically created human, a humanoid creature. This girl in front of him would certainly be able to skim into the category of being one, but she wasn't flesh and bone.

She was simply steel and metal.

"Um..." He paused, unsure of whether to continue or not. "My name is Alphonse Elric."

"And mine is Ever," she said. Her voice was cold, flat, emotionless. Like she wasn't attached to this dimension, as if she was somewhere even higher up. "It is a pleasure to meet you. Please excuse what I have said earlier, as I can sense that you cannot comprehend the start-up procedure. May I ask for the name of my creator?"

"...I don't know."

"I do not compute," said Ever, whose face was still unchanging. Did robots not have an emotion circuit or whatsoever? Watching her was like watching a rock, except more human-like. Her expression was straight, blank, devoid of anything at all. Only her eyes portrayed what she was feeling, but even with those being the "door to one's soul," he found nothing within the endless depths.

Was this what he looked like?

"What is our current location, Alphonse?"

He took a bit to reply, because his thoughts were welling up and clotting his processes like blood. "Oh! We're in Rush Valley at the moment, near Dublith."

"Rush Valley and Dublith...?" She sat still for a moment. "Ishbal?"

"Amestris," he replied. He had no inkling for why she thought they were in Ishbal but didn't press about it. She was probably in a disoriented state as of now.

"My database is missing," she said, her eyebrows furrowing. "I feel as if I do not know anything. Is this how newborn humans feel?"

Al shook his head. "I don't know about that either. But, um, Ever?"

"What is it, Alphonse?"

"Please go to sleep. You need it."

She shifted her position so she was sitting next to him, her arms wrapped around her knees. The hem of the plain white dress that Winry had fitted on her pooled on the ground. "Then why do you not retire for the night as well?"

He didn't know what to say. She was much more perceptive than the rest of the people he knew, but he couldn't just tell her that he was only a soul attached to armor. Taking the silence as an answer, she said, "It is the same reason as to why I do not-rather, cannot-sleep as well."

"You...have a soul?"

"I do not." Her answer was simple, straightforward. But it didn't answer the questions that were swimming inside of his mind. If she had no soul, how did she function like this, act like a human? "I do not have a sleep mode as well, so please bare with me throughout each of these nights together."

In all honesty, he would have smiled if he could. Even though he shouldn't have, since sleep was something he yearned for, he was glad that someone else was like him. All the books in the world couldn't make up the yawning gap of night to day, and at times, he would walk around the area in an attempt to stave off the loneliness. Of course, he had never told Brother; there were just things that he didn't tell his older sibling for various reasons. "Of course," he said brightly.

Ever faced him and stretched a delicate hand out to touch his chest plate. "Speak?"

"Hmm?" He had not been paying attention, since he spotted the faintest of light streaming in from the window. Ed was still snoring the dawn away, oblivious to the conversation the two of them were holding up.

"Your voice echoes, your armor hums," she stated thoughtfully. Her hand withdrew and reached out again as she took his head off.

"...A bloodseal?"

"A-Ah! Please give that back! I can't see without it!" He fumbled blindly for his helmet, and it was placed gently back into his gauntlets. He swiftly attached it back onto his neck and sighed in relief. Then it finally got to him that she had said,_ A bloodseal?_

"Human transmutation," she mused, as if the sin that both he and his brother committed was nothing. "Alphonse, are you tortured by that vessel?"

He didn't reply, for he didn't know how to.

* * *

Winry gaped at Ever, unable to contain her excitement. "Hey...Ed..."

"What?" he inquired in a slightly nervous tone. Who knew where she kept that wrench.

"Tell me...is this real?" The blonde sat dazed-looking, her head wrapped in a black bandana. She had only a piece of cloth covering her chest and camouflage cargo pants on, with her infamous anti-Fullmetal weapon nowhere in sight. "I actually...restarted her!"

"Yeah," he grumbled to himself. "This is real, alright."

The mysterious girl sat at their hotel room, staring blankly at the glass table. Then she said, "Winry Rockbell."

"Hah?" said Winry, suddenly with wrench in hand. She leaned forward. "What is it?"

"Age: 15. Gender: Female. Occupation: Automail Mechanic. Other: has attachments to Elric, E-"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAH-" The mechanic interrupted her manical laugh with a false cough and continued with, "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

"Attachments to what?" Ed asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Other: Attachments to Elric-"

"Brothers!" she cut in, a corner of her mouth quirking up. There was something that she didn't want them to hear, that was clear enough. Ed and Al exchanged a glance and shrugged it off. "But... Can we go to Dominic-san's again? I'm going to ask him until he accepts me as his apprentice."

"Sure," Edward said. "Al, you coming?"

"Mmh! Ever-san, do you want go come with us?"

"Ever alone is fine," she replied smoothly. "And yes, I must see more of Amestris. It is a chance that should not be easily let go of."

The four of them traipsed along the streets of Rush Valley; everywhere to the naked eye were shining pieces of automail, newest additions to the tool stores, town residents with mechanic limbs. Winry dashed all over the place, despite it being the second day that they were there, squealing excited sentences to the Elric Brothers about automail, automail, and automail.

Indeed, even several times Ever wandered off to inspect something before Edward dragged her back into the group.

At last (much to Ed's relief), they reached the forlorn-looking house sitting on the chalky-colored cliffs just outside of the valley. A thin trail of smoke whisped upwards from chimney to sky, marking a silver line in all the cloudy gray. A storm was about to break out, but it seemed that none of the others paid any heed to it.

Ever approached the cabin in a nonchalant manner, despite her wary eyes flicking about the entire area. Her sight system recorded and took some photos for her database to start storing up as she welcomed herself into the homely cabin.

The kitchen was already a busy place as the wife, Satera, prepared breakfast for the three of them. However, seeing four more pile in, she gave a warm smile and chuckled as she went to get more ingredients for the stew she was making.

"Good morning, Satera-san," Alphonse greeted her. Ever glanced at him out of the corner of her vision; was he not going to tell the woman that he could not eat? The dress fluttered around her skinny legs as she strode over to the armor. She kept her voice low, so not to say anything supposed to be left unsaid out loud. "Are you not going to tell her that you cannot consume such things?"

"I can't tell everyone I meet," he said in a quiet tone. She detected hints of some unknown emotion within those words, but couldn't unravel what it was. "The world doesn't need to know that I'm only a suit of armor and nothing more."

"I see," was all she said before returning to her chestnut wooden chair.

There was not much chatter as Winry went to go talk to Dominic. Even Edward stayed mute, only taking in the details of the house as if he had never been here. She noted that his pose suggested that he wanted to take a nap, and a yawn confirmed that a second later. Alphonse was just staring at his gauntlets, which were set on his lap in a polite gesture.

A groan ensued after a ladle clattered shockingly loud upon the floor, and instantly the trio shot up from their comfortable seats. "Satera?!" Ed crouched down worriedly next to her.

"The...it..."

"Hah...?" He leaned closer to hear what she was trying to say.

"The...baby...it's...coming...!"

The golden-haired boy rocketed away just as fast as he had come to her. "T-T-The baby...?! Uh-ah-uh-" His panic was cut short when a graying man of his late sixties barged in from the door.

"It's...coming...!" she moaned, which was the only cue Dominic needed.

"There's going to be a heavy storm," he said, taking a swift glance outside. He took a coat and rushed out, shouting, "I'll go get the doctor!" The rain was already beginning to pelt at the glass windows, creating heavy pitter-patter sounds that did nothing to calm the frayed nerves of the brothers. Ever, however, did not feel the panic coursing throughout her; instead... "Edward, Alphonse."

"What?" they exclaimed simultaneously, both coming to a stop from their frantic prances.

"I believe Winry should be skilled in medical studies, am I correct? Please go fetch her. We will need as much assistance as possible in order for us to deliver the child." For a moment, they looked at her like she was mad; who could say all of that with a straight face in this dire situation? However, Ed's logical senses got ahold of him and he openly agreed to her suggestion before leaving to get her.

"Um... Ever..."

"Yes, Alphonse?" she asked as she began tugging sheets of white from the cabinets in the living room.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" It was such a tentative question that she might've burst out laughing if she was human.

"Get warm water," another voice shoved in. Winry came in from the same door as the one Dominic used and tied her hair up with a black band. "Don't spill any, but make it as fast as possible."

"Okay!"

Ever flicked a strand of black hair obscuring her line of sight and gave a nod of approval to her. "I do not have much experience nor vast knowledge upon the arts of medical healing or delivery, but I believe I may be of some help." Edward had come back by then, his expression as nervous as he felt, and so she added, "Assist us in lifting Satera to her bedroom."

At the count of three, they lifted the continously-moaning woman onto the bed with some difficulty. The second she came in contact with the mattress, however, was the second she began screaming, "I'm going to die! Aghh, it hurts so much!"

Then, the first blossom of scarlet seeped into the snowy white sheets. "Edward," Ever began cautiously. "Do you wish to stay and witness the mess before a child is born?"

He gave a quick shake of his head and, taking that as dismissal, retreated out of the room.

"Al!" Winry shouted. "Bring the water in!"

"O-Okay!" The younger brother rushed in, set the bucket of water down, and scampered back out.

"Is this your first time?" the robot asked gravely, watching beads of sweat roll down the mother's forehead.

"As much as it's yours," she admitted. "But I've read some medical books because my..." Winry faltered for a short second before resuming. "...parents were doctors. I hope it's enough though."

"Indeed," the girl said, already draping a clean sheet over Satera's body. "This does not look like it will be pleasant business, but I do want to help her. Winry?"

She nodded, tensed and slightly terrified of the ordeal she would hve to go through. "Let's get this over with."

* * *

Edward and Alphonse were both situated directly outside of the bedroom. Ed was crouched moodily next to his brother, often caught staring at his hands and then muttering words. Al pretended to not hear anything; there were times when he should intervene, and at the same time, there were moments where he left him alone. This was one of those moments, and thus, he spoke of nothing to him.

Ed glared at his gloved hand for the millionth time, then reached to take out his dangling silver pocketwatch. The proof of a State Alchemist. Then he curled his fingers around the pocketwatch; both were signs of him being an alchemist. Yet, if alchemists were the closest beings to gods, then why couldn't they help a housewife give birth to life?

And even though he had known it all his life, alchemists were nothing close to gods. They were simple people, each with their emotions and heart and mind. They were weak beings, capable of breaking down and wrecking havoc.

They were human.

But over the years, he had accumulated a pride in what he was; an alchemist. He had been a prodigy, entering the military at age twelve. He had become to think of himself as _strong._ The feeling of being helpless hadn't returned to him in quite a while, and experiencing it after such a duration of time was just jarring to him.

The screams and moans suddenly produced a new sound: crying. The cries of a baby. Ed pushed himself off of the ground and rushed in with Al. "Is everything okay?!"

It was a mess, as Ever had predicted. Bloodstained rags, water swirling with the red liquid, and even the couple of girls had their arms deep in the crimson fluid. But there, in the safe mother's arms, was a healthy, newborn child. Their effort hadn't been put to waste.

"Thank you so much," Satera managed to say, even when she was colored unnaturally pale. "Thank you."

"You are welcome," said Ever, who was sitting on the ground, exhausted beyond standing.

"Ed..." Winry mumbled, planting her face into the wooden boards. "Carry me to a chair."

"Eh?" he said.

"I'm too tired to walk..."

"Oh...alright." He lifted an eyebrow at her current state but wrapped an arm around her. She grabbed onto it and weakly lifted her own weight off of the floor. As Ever and Al began to clean up the place, Edward was carefully setting Winry into a chair in the far corner.

Her sapphire eyes blinked slowly. "Ed."

"What is it?"

"I saw...I saw what was in the pocketwatch..."

Instantly, he dropped her roughly into the chair. "You what?!" Thankfully enough, the rest of the people in the room didn't hear them.

"Sorry, Ed," she said. Her head was bowed, her hands in her lap. She hadn't expected to find such a painful reminder within the watch.

And him, being Edward with her being Winry, he forgave her without much reluctance or anger. It was just so sorrowful and sincere whenever she genuinely said, "Sorry, Ed" that he couldn't help it. "I feel weak for having to carry that around in a form like that, but...

"Idiot," he said, because she was one. "Why are you crying?"

The droplets were landing on the back of her hands. "Because you brothers won't cry for yourselves!"

"...Idiot," he repeated before stretching out to ruffle her hair.

* * *

The machine looked on with thoughtful eyes as the baby gave a gurgle. She was holding her finger out for the child to grab onto, and it did so, warbling happily as it did. The boy beamed brightly as it played with her index finger.

"So this was how we were born," Al said, his voice filled with wonder. "He's so cute! Satera-san, what are you going to name him?"

"Lorren," she whispered softly, gazing lovingly at the bundle wrapped in her arms. "That's what Ridel and I have decided."

"It's amazing how mothers can do what alchemists have been trying to figure out for decades," Ed said, as awestruck as Al.

"Don't compare everything to alchemy!" Winry called out from her chair's location. "Giving birth is a miracle, it's not some random hobo-jobo with circles!"

"What did you say?!" He rushed back to butt heads with her upon the topic of alchemy and human miracles.

As Alphonse asked for permission to hold the child, Ever's consciousness wandered elsewhere. Her systems efficiently filed her recent experience into their proper categories, but there was also something else that she couldn't grasp, something that her hands couldn't get a hold of. Al, catching her distant eyes, moved over to her. "Ever, you should hold Lorren. You helped so much, hm?" She didn't need to see it; she heard the smile in that vibrating, echoing voice of his.

The baby giggled as she held it. Then, it dawned upon her. So that was what it was, this foreign object. This new sensation.

Happiness.

And so she faced up towards Alphonse and returned the smile.

* * *

** And that's the first chapter! =w= I really hoped that you readers enjoyed it, because...well...because. c: I definitely know I enjoyed writing this!**

** Ever insists she has no emotions, but, well, here it is. Later on, she'll think her systems are defective because she's human. Humans - denial. SHE DENIES DEM FEELZ.**

** If you liked reading this, I'd greatly appreciate if you dropped a review on the way out! Any positive feedback is entirely welcome, but if you don't know what to say, you can just put what you think of it. :) Alrigh-tee, thanks for taking your time to read the first chapter of my first OC fic! ^o^**


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